Appendix B: Guidelines

Appendix B:

Guidelines

When playing, there may be ways that the rules could be interpreted that wind up resulting in odd interactions. A situation may come up where the rules as they appear aren’t clear in a ruling. In these cases, the “spirit” of the game should take precedent over how it potentially could function as it was not intended to.

Rule Interpretations

The following guidelines should help convey what we mean by the “spirit” of the game.

Rulings Over Rules

What’s provided here is a toolkit for pulp fantasy storytelling, rather than a set of rules that must always be obeyed. If confusion ever occurs over an interaction, or if the game stalls for longer than 10 seconds, make a judgment call and keep the game moving.

Hierarchy of Specificity

There are “general rules” for how the game is played, and “specific rules” that bend and break general rules. If a specific rule contradicts a general rule, obey the specific rule.

Work Together

Players are expected to want to play a Hero in a cooperative game. Keep the story moving and avoid arguing and argument-provoking.

No System Canon

The system is a toolkit for any fantasy world. Canon only exists within that realm. Anything the rulebook hints at is for inspiration.

Non-Adversarial

There is no “winning” Vagabond. The objective is to tell a story. The GM presents players with challenges. The GM has the final say in what happens for the Story.

"Yes, And"-Forward Design

Vagabond tries to award as many narrative ideas as possible, with Abilities designed to say "Yes" more than "No." If a player comes up with an idea for why a thing they have should reasonably work, the system tries to allow it to happen.

Player Choice

Mechanics granted to or caused by a Hero state either directly or indirectly that a choice must be made (such as, “You gain Training with a Skill”). These choices are always made by the player.

TRDSIC

Coined by Chris “Treantmonk” Honkala, TRDSIC is short for “The Rules Don’t Say I Can’t.” In short, it’s when the rules aren’t being interpreted for what is written, but rather for what isn’t written. There are an infinite number of things the rules don’t say you can do. It’s against the spirit of the game to assume that text not accounting for them means that the misinterpretation works.

On the Math

When making any calculations, be sure to follow these general guidelines.

Round Down

Unless told to round up, assume any division rounds down to the nearest whole number.

Follow PEMDAS/BODMAS

When a calculation requires more than one type of operation, follow the standard order of operations: 1 Parenthesis/Brackets 2 Exponents/Orders 3 Multiplication/Division 4 Addition 5 Subtraction

Guided

While in Guided play, keep the following guidelines in mind for Players and Game Masters.

Players

Ask Questions

The GM is there to present situations to pique curiosities, adapt, and improvise in a manner that the Solo experience can’t copy. The easiest way to sell yourself on Guided experience is to ask the GM questions.

Low Interpretation

Checks give specific “pass” or “fail” answers. GMs should not ask for Checks to gauge success, or that don’t have risk to failure. “No” is not a consequence, but "I failed to pick the lock, and my lockpick clanged against the floor and alerted the guards." is.

No Takesies-Backsies

The GM has the task of keeping the story going in a reasonable manner and hopefully not disrupt cohession. As such, after the GM describes the result of any actions, it’s bad form for any player to argue outcomes with the GM, no matter how undesirable.

Game Masters

Clear Communication of Risk

Much of play will take place in the “theater of the mind.” In these situations, it is the GM’s job to try and clearly convey elements of the scene as they have envisioned in their mind. The GM should make it clear that consequences may occur as a result of risky action. For example: choosing to make a risky jump may result in falling from a great height. A player may not be aware of the distance of the gap or height of the fall the GM has in mind, so the GM should make this risk apparent. This doesn’t mean the GM needs to describe every single detail of the environment to its finest detail, but enough to outline the danger of a Scene. A brief overview is absolutely reasonable, and the Players’ engagement with the fine details can serve as prompts for the fine details.

Talk to the PCs, Not the Players

GMs will get more roleplay engagement from players by calling them by their character's names, rather than their real-life names. This is a subconscious way to get your players involved and bought into the world, and all it takes is consciously reminding yourself.

Enemy vs Enemy

No rolls are used for Enemy vs Enemy interactions, you are the master of the world. Push in favor of the Heroes.

Don't Over-Prep

Some GMs love to prepare for sessions, but most people don't have eight hours to prepare for three to four hours of play. We try to encourage a prep time of no more than half the time you intend to play. If you anticipate a four hour session, try to keep your prep down to two hours. Review the PCs, anticipate what events are likely to occur during the session, familiarize yourself with the location and factions, then try to take it easy. Vagabond runs in such a way where you can anticipate a dungeon crawl covering about 10 to 20 rooms in a two to three hour session. Too much prep is the easiest way to experience GM burnout, where you are so creatively tapped you can't bring yourself to run the game.

Don't Get Attached to Enemies

Enemies in Vagabond are meant to be wailed on by the Heroes. Players are encouraged to be high action Heroes, and the GM's role is to arbitrate the game. A GM needs to be an impartial mediator of the rules, period.

Game Master Player Characters

Trying to Mary Sue an NPC into being the main character of the story is a recipe for a terrible time at the table. Your players don't care about how cool your NPCs are, they care about how cool their Heroes are.

On "Railroading"

This isn't Zelda. The "boss key" is a great bottleneck for video game dungeons that can anticipate the sequence you will progress down to beat it. However, the beauty of tabletop roleplaying games is the infinite choices players have in solving situations. Something that immediately makes players feel that they've lost agency in a dungeon is to hear about a problem, and being told their idea for a solution isn't allowed. The best way to avoid this kind of situation is to not create knowledge or make items that are required to progress the Quest, and try to build your dungeon as if it could be entered from any room and still function.

• That boss door with the big golden lock

that opens with the key five rooms to the west? The Rogue will try and pick it.

• The ledge keeping the tantalizing treasure

chest out of reach? The Fighter just chugged a Potion of Gigantism. The best dungeons don't try to solve the problem for the players, they present an interesting enough problem for the players to want to find a solution to. This is one of the key tenants of Old School Renaissance style adventure writing, and it's ultimately a much more freeing space to write from.

Solo/Co-Op

While in Solo/Co-Op play, use these guidelines to help the story emerge. You can do so with a written module, or with the procedures provided herein.

Your Fun is How You Make It!

Vagabond is designed to allow you to tackle situations as you would like to, with the rules serving as a guide for how you make that fun. If you want to play a fantasy pop-star that recruits an army of goblins to turn them against the dungeon boss, that is just as valid as a brutal monster slayer hacking their way through that same dungeon. If you want to roll up a 10th Level Hero and solo your way through a Quest made for 1st Level Heroes, that’s also fine! You are given a toolkit here for solo play, but these rules are less flexible in games run by a GM. SOLO INTEGRITY Group play allows the GM to hide characteristics like Armor, Immune, and Status Immunities from the Players. Unfortunately, this isn’t feasible or practical in solo play. You are assumed to take on the adventure as a Hero, which comes with its risks, including being potentially unprepared for the dangers that you may face. There may be times where retreat is your best option, but it’s entirely fair to believe your Hero knows certain things about Enemies you face.